


Keep The Change

by queerSeth



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Cafe AU, F/M, Fluff, Phone Call, Shy, bitty - Freeform, pies and cute guys, these nerds are great, zimbits - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-22
Updated: 2016-05-22
Packaged: 2018-06-09 22:10:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,064
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6925309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queerSeth/pseuds/queerSeth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cafe AU, Jack Zimmerman is a regular customer at the cafe that the Bittle’s own, and Eric grows to enjoy his visits more and more	.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Keep The Change

Eric Bittle’s favourite time of day was 6:30. It didn’t matter if it was the morning or evening. If the clock read 6:30, Eric wore a smile until 7 rolled around. 6:30am was when he arrived at work, and 6:30pm was just peaceful. The small bakery he owned with his mother opened at 8am, and it wasn’t until 6:30pm that the rush of customers finally dwindled down to a few, quiet folks, sitting at their tables to work or socialize.

It wasn’t that Eric didn’t enjoy the busy hours, when he could be on his feet, providing people with his family’s delicious baked goods, or that he didn’t appreciate each and every person who came to buy said goods, it was just that 6:30 was when he could finally take a long breath and slow down to really enjoy his job.

For the past month, however, his favourite time of day had slowly become 8pm, just before closing. He hadn’t really noticed, but it soon became clear that he was glancing anxiously at the clock and the door leading up to 8 in search of his favourite regular.

He didn’t know tall man’s name, but he knew his order, and had started baking the single-serving sugar-maple pie in advance so that the man could always have his order fresh. Even his mother had started making extras just to make sure they didn’t run out by 8, so that the man could always have one when he ordered it.

Eric hadn’t said more than two sentences to the man a day, and they were usually restricted to “How are you?” and “Have a good day”, so he couldn’t really say he  _ liked  _ the man, but at the same time he really liked him. He was tall, with light blue eyes, short, dark hair, and a shy smile. He bent his head down when he walked, and only looked up to order his pies. His shoulder’s were usually hunched, but he was still over 6 feet tall, which was huge when Eric compared him to his own 5’7” build, and he had to bend down even lower to fit through the small cafe door, which always brought a smile to Eric’s face. He also wore a hockey jersey from the college close by, so Eric figured he probably played, or at least had a friend that did.

The bell above the door rang, snapping Eric’s head up to see if it was who he was expecting. Brown eyes met blue, and he smiled, hopping down from his place on the counter to stand at the register.

“Hello! How are you?”

The man smiled and nodded. “Doing good. Could I get a pie?”

Eric giggled and nodded. “That’s kind of what we’re here for. So that you can get pies.”

The man chuckled and rubbed his neck sheepishly. “Heh... right.”

Eric smiled and reached under the counter, pulling out the freshly baked sugar-maple. “This one came out only half an hour ago, so eat it while it’s still fresh, kay?”

“Kay.”

The man reached into his pocket and, hesitating a moment, pulled out a bill and a small slip of paper. He left before Eric could say any more, the door ringing on his way out. Eric frowned, the change still in his fist, and looked down at the note.

 

_ Keep the change. _

_ 555-555-5555 _

\---

That night, Eric sat on his bed, staring at the small, hand-written numbers on the slip of paper. He lost count of how many times he had picked up the phone, dialed the number, and then put the phone down again. He just couldn’t bring himself to call. What would he say?  _ Hi. I’m that guy that you buy pies from. Want to be my friend?  _ No. Absolutely not. There were only so many times he could embarrass himself in his life, and he was pretty sure he had filled his quota in his middle school years anyway.

Still, he wanted to talk to the man, and his feelings were obviously mutual, or else he wouldn't have left his number. After an hour of debating, and three pies baked to calm his nerves, he finally pressed call and waited for the other to pick up.

“Hello?”

Eric’s face went red and he pressed the phone to his ear. “H-hi... This is Eric. Eric Bittle? Um... You buy my mom’s pies.”

He heard a chuckle on the other end of the line. “Oh hey. I was hoping you’d call.”

“Um... why’d you give me your number?” He asked softly, then instantly hurried to expand. “I mean, because we don’t really talk, and you don’t really know me, I mean.”

Another laugh. “Because we  _ don’t  _ really talk, and I’d like to change that. Is that okay with you?”

Eric nodded, then blushed as he remembered they were on the phone. “It’s okay with me.” He said quietly.

“Cool. I’m Jack.”

“I’m Eric.”

“I know.”

Eric blushed again. “Right. Cause I wear a name tag at work, and work is where you see me. And I answered the phone saying ‘Hi, I’m Eric’, and-”

He was interrupted by another laugh on the other end of the call, and his blush became dangerously red.

“Sorry...”

The laughing stopped and he heard Jack gasp. “No no! I wasn’t laughing at.... I mean... You’re cute.”

The last part was barely a whisper, and Eric’s eyes widened. “Pardon?”

A sigh. “You’re cute. I gave you my number cause I think you’re cute.” There was a pause. “You can hang up if you want. I know it was a long shot I just-”

“I won’t hang up.”

“I’m glad.”

Silence. Eric’s blush went down a bit, but his smile was threatening to rip his face open with how wide it was getting.

“Uh... Do you want to, maybe, go somewhere.... Sometime.... With me?” Jack stammered. Eric nodded silently again, and smiled. 

“Hello?”

“Oh! Yes! Yes I would! Sorry... I forgot we were on the phone and, goodness, I was just nodding but I guess you can’t see that.” He blushed again as Jack began laughing.

“Well, I’ll see you tomorrow. Same time and place, right?”

Eric grinned and giggled. “Sure. That’s where you’ll usually find me.”

The next day, Jack found a phone number hidden in his change as he walked out of the cafe.


End file.
